Electric switching mechanism



H. A. DOUGLAS ELECTRIC SWITCHING MECHANISM 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 wig 7 7 l mm. Tu"... I I QV'IIIIIAVIIIIIIIIIJUIIII\ y ,za

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ELECTRIC SWITCHING MECHANI SM Filed Feb. 9, 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet 2Patented Feb. 18, 1930 PATENT OFFICE HARRY A. DOUGLAS, OF BRONSOLL.MICHIGAN ELECTRIC SWITCHING MECHANISM v Application filed February 9,1927. Serial No. 166,931.

My inventionrrelates to electric switching mechanism and has for itsobject the provisionof an improved construction and assembly ofcomponent parts thereof. A looking structure is also included in thepreferred embodimentof the invention which holds the switching mechanismin one of its adjustments.

The structure of my invention includes a casing having a groove in itsside shaped to form a shoulder preferably sloping from one end of thecasing, a shell receiving the grooved portion of said'casing, said shellhaving a tongue entering said groove and '15 cooperating with thesloping shoulder to force the shell into position, an electric contactcarried by the shell, and a contact complemental to the aforesaidcontact. In the preferred embodiment of the invention the "2 groove alsoextends to one end of the casing so that the tongue that is received inthe groove may readily enter the same without having its shape modifiedfor this purpose. The groove,where it slopes, also desirably forms asecond shoulder spaced apart from the first, the shell being forced bythe engagement of the tongue and sloping shoulder into abuttingengagement with this second shoulder. The casing desirably also has arecess, preferably in the form of a groove,

which receives a second tongue provided upon the shell to hold the firsttongue in engagement with the first shoulder. A contact actuator isenclosed by the casing and is preferably rotatable therein to bring acontact or contacts controlled thereby into and out of engagement with acomplemental contact or contacts. This contact actuator is preferably arotatable locking device such as a tumbler barrelwhich carries tumblersadapted to be placed into and out of locking relation with the casingwhereby the switch may be secured in a desired adjustment. The device ofmy invention may be employed in connection with the ignition circuits ofautomotive vehicles'in-which event the locking device serves to lock theignition circuit in open adjustment or is freed to permit it to placethe ignition circuit in closed adjustment.

I will explain my invention more fully by reference to the accompanyingdrawings in which Fig. 1 is a side view, partially in section andpartially in elevation, of the preferred formof the invention showingone manner of mounting the device, a key being present; Fig. 2 is afrontview of the structure appearing in Fig. '1 but with the key absent;Fig. 3 is a sectional view on line 33 of Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is a sectionalview on line 44 of Fig. 3; Fig. 5 is a sectional view on line 5-5 of Fig. 1; Fig. 6 shows the shell and casing in perspective and in separatedrelation; Fig. 7 is one perspective View of the contact structure whichis governed by the contact actuator within the casing; Fig. 8 is areverse perspective view of the device shown in Fig. 7 Fig. 9 is asectional view on line 99 of Fig. 3; and Fig. 10 is a rear view of thestructure as it appears in Fig. 1, parts at the, front end of thestructure being omitted.

A cylindrical member in the form of a casing l is formed with an annularbead 2 at its front end and is threaded, as indicated at 3, behind thebead. The casing may be passed through an opening 4: in a board or othermounting device 5, a nut 6 being received by the threads 3 and servingto clamp said head against the. board 2, the casing projecting aconsiderable extent to the rear of the board. Two similar anddiametrically'opposite grooves 7 are formed lengthwise in the sides ofthe casing, these grooves extending from one end of the casing vtowardthe other and having similarly directed lateral extensions 8 each shapedto form a shoulder 9sloping from the rear end of the correspondinggroove 7 toward the front end of the casing and a second shoulder 10spaced from the firstand located further from the rear end of the casingthan the shoulder 9. The shoulder 10 is at the rear of the threadedportion 3 of the casing. The casing is also desirably provided with twodiametrically opposite recesses 11 which are in the nature oflongitudinal grooves in the casing that are parallel with thelongitudinal parts of the grooves 7 The casing is cylindrical in contourin the zone of said grooves as it also is in the zone of the threads at3. A cylindrical shell 12, preferably metallic, snugly receives theportion of the casing provided with the aforesaid grooves and the frontend ofthe shell has abutting engagement with the shoulder 10. The shellhas two diametrically opposite rigid tongues 13 which are bent inwardlyand are adapted to enter the grooves 7 and the lateral extensions 8thereof, these tongues cooperating with the sloping shoulders 9 to forcethe front ends of the shell into abutting engagement with the shoulder10. Said shell desirablyhas additional diametrically opposite rigidtongues 14 which are initially disposed in the circle of the shell asillustrated in Fig. 6. These tongues are bent into the recesses llwhenthe tongues 13 have been placed in their final. positions, the tongues14 engaging sides of the recesses or grooves 11 to hold the tongues 13in the positions to which they have been finally brought so that theshell and casing are firmly assembled.

v The casing desirably carries a tumbler barrel 15 which isrotatablewithin the bore of the casing and is prevented from axialmovement by means of a pin 16 carried by the casing and projecting intoan arcuate groove 17 formed in the tumbler barrel. This tumbler barrelcontains tumblers 18 that are movable transversely thereof into and outof the diametrically opposite slots or recesses 19 formed in the casing.These tumblers are adjustable by a key 20 to be simultaneously out ofsaid slots or recesses 19. The key is flat and enters an oblong opening21 in the front of the tumbler barrel so that it not only serves toadjust the tumblers out of locking relation with the casing 1 but may bealso employed as a handle to turn the locking barrel and thereby theswitch closing metallic bar 22 which is mounted upon an insulating disc23 thatreceives the pins 24 carried by and projecting rearwardly fromthe tumbler barrel whereby said disc is turned. The rear end of theshell is closed by an insulating disc 25 with which the metallicspringbarrels 26 are assembled. Metallic the latter end of said member,said member having an additional shoulder spaced apart from theaforesaid shoulder and interposed between this shoulder and the latterend of the aforesaid cylindrical member; of a shell 3 receiving thegroove'dportion of said member and abut-ting said additional shoulder,

saidshell having a rigid tongue entering said groove and forciblyengaged by said sloping shoulder to engage said shell with saidadditional shoulder, said shell having an additional rigid tongue whichenters a holding recess that is provided in the side of the cylindricalmember and is in fixed en-j gagement with a side of this recess to holdthe first aforesaid tongue and the aforesaid sloping shoulder in fixedengagement to maintain the shell in abutting engagement with theaforesaid additional shoulderupon the cylindrical member.

In witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name.

HARRY A. DOUGLAS.

contacts 27 are pressed forwardly by the j springs 28 in said springbarrels to engage either the metallic circuit closing contact bar 22 orthe insulating disc 23, according to whether the switch is in opened orclosed adjustment. Thebar 22 is positioned by the key 20 to engage thecontacts 27 when the key is turned to bring the tumblers 18 out ofregister with the slots 19. When the key is reversed to bring thetumblers 18 into. regist'er with said slots, the tumblers enter theslots to hold the switch in the corresponding adjustment in whichadjustment the contacts engage the insulating disc 23 instead of thecontact bar 22 that is on this disc. suitable form of terminalconnectors such sembledlwith saidspring barrels.

Any

